I was kicked out of school aged 15… now I’m a millionaire Apprentice winner with fleet of supercars & lavish holidays
AN Apprentice winner who was kicked out of school aged 15 saw his business go bust – before he bounced back in the best way.
Joseph Valente, 33, won Lord Sugar’s hit ITV show in 2015.
His flare for business started from a young age, with Joe inspired by his uncle – a successful local businessman.
Joe told The Sun: “I couldn’t see how the school system would help me achieve success – why sit in an art class when it was obvious to anyone that I wasn’t that sort of person?
“So, I was an angry kid, a rule breaker, kicked out of school at 15, but even at seven I was that hustling boy always looking to make money, but never interested in going to university.
“Anyway, where I grew up tradesmen were the people you looked up to.
“One local plumber was only 25, but had the BMW and the glamorous girlfriend, so I persuaded him to take me on, working for free in return for him training me up and sending me to college.
“At 22, I borrowed £15k and set up on my own as a ‘man in a van’ and founded Impra-Gas in 2012.”
But he warned: “As I found, early success can be dangerous, making you feel invincible.”
Joe saw applying for The Apprentice as a further step up – and the judges were impressed.
He went on to win – but now feels his success on the show should be an early warning.
He added: “After winning the show, I was only 25, my life sky-rocketed into the public eye, I had a billionaire business partner – Lord Alan Sugar“.
As the winner, his company gained a £250k investment from Lord Sugar – but Valente found himself resenting the interference and ended up rowing with his new partner.
“I told him he was holding me back, and agreed to part company,” Joe said.
“But I learned a lot from him.”
Joseph says one cruel winter was the death knell on his gas firm ImpraGas – which he says “grew too quickly”.
He sold the firm to Rel Capital.
Speaking of the company, Joseph said; “One bad business doesn’t make you a bad businessman.”
He then created Trade Mastermind the same year, an academy that was set up to help those in construction.
Joe added: “I was able to make millions.
“In three years I have bounced back.”
Videos on TikTok and his Instagram page which has over 600k followers show Joseph giving business advice and driving fast cars, which he takes out on lease.
He said: “I pay a lot of money to be able to access lots and lots of supercars on tap whenever I want them”
“It’s a brand new supercar every week.
“I would never buy a supercar outright, a very stupid investment. In most cases they are a depreciating asset.”
He is currently moving to London from Peterborough and said: “Mayfair is where I’m heading. It’s great for networking and that’s one reason why I also hired a luxury villa in Marbella and invited 20 top business people to join me, including my friend Alfie Best.
“We played some golf, went to some top restaurants, hired a £10million yacht and did great business and made good contacts.”